Codeword: Confusion
by Bee Juice
Summary: Complete! Season 2 filler for Spiderweb. Lee's thoughts during the Spiderweb fiasco leave him feeling confused and a bit unsettled after Amanda is accused of being a double agent.


Codeword: Confusion

By: Beejuice

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: Scarecrow and Mrs. King belong to Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Productions. The plot is mine

Summary: Season 2 filler for Spiderweb. Lee's thoughts during the Spiderweb fiasco leave him feeling confused and a bit unsettled after Amanda is accused of being a double agent.

I want to give a shout out to Lanie and Raiz for taking time out of their holiday schedule to help me flesh this out! I truly appreciate all the help! Any and all errors left are simply mine!

**Chapter 1: Stuck in a web of thoughts**

Lee Stetson walked tiredly into his apartment. He could feel the weight of the world on his shoulders as he threw his suit jacket haphazardly on the back of the couch. He walked around to the front and sank heavily down into the well-worn cushions letting out a long audible sigh.

It had felt like a very long day yet the light still shone brightly through his grimy windows. Absently, he shook his head back and forth trying to make some kind of sense of the circumstances that were growing increasingly bad by the minute. He stared down at his empty palms as if the answers to the endless barrage of questions would magically appear. _'Amanda King suspected of being a double agent, despite the fact that she isn't even an Agent at all?!'_ _How could that possible?'_ his mind screamed down at his hands. He knew it couldn't possibly be true, but he also knew to prove it was going to be incredibly difficult, even for him. He knew he would adamantly defend her, but also knew he had to tread water very carefully, especially at The Agency. He'd already stood up for her, alongside Billy and Francine when Larner accused her of treason and espionage. Luckily, the possibility seemed as far-fetched to him as it had to both of them. Francine, however**, **had accused him on many occasions of showing partiality towards Amanda, and it was true, in a sense. '_Amanda needs my protection, in order to keep her safe__**,**_' he thought.

With a frown, he stood up, marched over to the bar to pour himself a healthy glass of scotch. He grabbed some ice and dumped it into a tumbler. He heard the clinking of the ice on the side of the glass and watched as the amber liquid covered the cubes, inviting him to take a sip. Returning to the couch, Lee toed out of his shoes before once again lowering himself onto the couch. He reached for his tie and quickly removed the garment and unbuttoned the top two buttons on his shirt as he put his feet up on the coffee table. He felt somewhat less constricted physically and he began slowly sipping the drink. Before long, he felt the cold ice as it hit his lip. Lee refilled his glass and returned to the couch.

Lee thought a drink or two would help him make some sense of the situation, but one intruding nagging thought kept invading his focus. Amanda King's date the other night at Chez Tayir. '_I don't like him,'_ Lee shook his head back and forth. '_Maybe he's the one who put Amanda into the middle of this situation. Hell, he is legal counsel for senators, cabinet members, and defense contractors. If that man set up Amanda for his own gain, I'll kill him!' _His thoughts were growing angrier by the moment. '_And obviously a little kinky,_' Lee couldn't seem to get that comment from Francine the other night out of his mind either. '_Amanda thinks there is good in all people. Sometimes, she's just too damn naive for her own good!' _He slammed his empty glass down onto the coffee table with a little too much vigor, making a piece of ice plop out of the cup onto the brown wood surface. He grasped the remote and clicked on the television to provide some time of diversion. He found an old western but didn't even bother to turn up the volume. '_Maybe another drink,' _he thought.

By the third glass, Lee was really feeling the effects of the alcohol. His thoughts began taking a strange turn. '_What if that Polo Player_ _really did find her attractive? I mean Amanda is pretty...well that's not….uggh, what am I thinking? Amanda is just a coworker, a friend.'_ Lee pondered that thought for a moment. He didn't like this direction his thoughts were taking one bit, but he couldn't stop them.'_There is something about her eyes that could captivate even the most hardened spy into telling all sorts of secrets. I wonder what her eyes would look like after a long, passionate kiss? What the hell am I thinking?' _Lee placed his head in his hands. The guilt from the thoughts of Amanda seeped into his pores along with the warm amber liquid. He knew he had no right to be thinking along those lines. He attributed it to a combination of lack of sleep, a recent lull in own his love life since Margo had flown off with that pilot, and now too much scotch. '_I have no interest in Amanda King that way. And despite what she has said, I am not jealous. She is my partner. And what do partners do? Watch each other's tails. I told her that this is all just part of the job. There is nothing more to it than that,'_ his mind stated adamantly to trying to convince himself.

**Chapter 2: Trying to break free**

The sudden knock on his door broke Lee out of the merry-go-round ofthoughts. He strode to the door and looked through the peephole. '_What the hell is Amanda doing here?'_ he wondered aloud to himself.

Gathering his wits, he took a deep breath and opened the door. He was unable to hide the surprise and confusion on his face. His annoyance at her interruption had him firing questions at her presence now on his doorstep."Amanda, what are you doing here? What's going on? Why did you come here?" He knew his tone sounded accusatory when he saw the hurt momentarily flit across her face. However, he couldn't fathom the reason she had come to his apartment, especially due to the current circumstances and their earlier conversation at work.

"I told you I was going to stop by," she said exasperated at his lack of memory. Lee tried to clear the fog in his brain attributing it to the scotch.

Putting her hands on her hips, she brushed past him into the living room. He watched her toss the manila envelope onto the coffee table and whirl around towards him again. As she passed, he could smell the gentle fragrance of hers that always reminded him of fresh aromatic flowers and cinnamon and vanilla beans mixed with a hint of lemon oil from her cleaning. Unconsciously, he inhaled deeply savoring the delightful aroma. "Lee, you asked me to stop by and drop off your report when I was finished editing it," she reminded him using those chocolate brown eyes of her that he had just been dreaming about to jog his memory. "Listen, I have to get going so I'll talk to you tomorrow, ok?"

Still confused by the encounter, Lee said the first thing that popped into his head. "Where are you going?"

"I have a date tonight with Bryce. I told you that earlier," she smiled at him while shaking her head. "What's with you? You seem a little out of it. You're not coming down with anything, are you?" He could see the concern etch itself into her features as her hand began to ascend towards his forehead.

"No, I'm fine, Amanda, really," he assured her, gently swatting her hand away from his head and grasping it in his own. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" 'Damn it, it's none of my business who she goes out with but she never picks up cues when she's in danger,' he thought already regretting his question.

He saw her tilt her head to one side and regard him strangely. "Lee, what do you mean?"

Lee knew he had to do something and quickly. This conversation wasn't going anywhere he wanted to delve into at the moment, and he had no idea how to say what he really wanted to say.

"Nevermind, Amanda. I hope you have a nice time. Just be careful, ok?" He reached out and touched her arm.

"Lee, I'll be with Bryce, and we're always careful. You should know _that_," she playfully slapped his shoulder. "He...and I...I mean we want to thank you for all the help these past few months. I mean, you've been so supportive and really encouraged me to follow my heart. You've been a really good friend and you've been there for not just me, but for Bryce. It was a really nice thing to do, and we both really appreciate it." He was so fixated on the length of her diatribe without any need for a breath; it took a minute for her words to sink into his subconscious.

Lee began choking on nothing. He continued to cough until he was finally able to catch his breath. "He…..you….what?" Obviously, something was going on, and Lee simply couldn't put his finger on it. Quickly he began searching his brain, but he could remember for the life of him what had happened over the last few months. All he was sure of at that moment was that whatever _it_ was, he wasn't going to like it. '_What the hell is she talking about?'_

"Lee, are you alright?" He felt her hand patting him on the back.

Lee stepped back and stared at her for a long moment. "Are you saying what I think you're saying, Amanda? You and Bryce are a couple?" He couldn't keep the exasperation out of his voice or the distaste from his face.

"Very funny, Lee." Amanda became increasingly indignant. She began punctuating each of her next statements with a finger on his chest. "You're the one who said I shouldn't let this one get away. You're the one who thought he was good for me and my family. You said he is stable, reliable, and in a lot less dangerous job. You said you really liked Bryce. Those were your words. Not mine. Look, I don't know what's going on with you or what has gotten into you, but if I didn't know you any better, I'd say you sound a little jealous." Her tone was questionable but the meaning wasn't lost on him. She began walking towards the door.

"When did I say _all _that?" Lee wailed at her retreating back as he cringed at the thought. Amanda stopped in her tracks and turned. She noticed that he characteristically racked his hand through hair as he continued, "I would never say that!" Lee began pacing around the apartment like a caged lion racking his brain.

Coming back into the room, she softly asked, "Are you going to be ok?"

"Amanda, I'm just fine and I'm not jealous! It's you I'm concerned about. Don't do it, Amanda. Please don't leave," he pleaded as he picked up her hands and firmly held on to her.

He saw her eyes widen in response to his plea but that didn't stop him from continuing on with his rant. "He's all wrong for you. Do you hear me, Amanda? Amanda! Amanda!" he shouted but received no response. "Amanda?" Still, he heard nothing and everything went dark.

**Chapter 3: Decoding**

Sitting up, Lee's breath was coming in short puffs, his heart was beating a mile a minute and one couch cushion was on the floor. Sweat beaded on his forehead and arms. "What the hell was that all about?" he said aloud.

Lee held his pounding head in his hands. His mouth was dry and felt as if he'd been sucking on cotton balls. Looking towards the table, he eyed an empty glass with the watery remnants of the scotch. He stood up shakily and waited for a moment to gain his balance before padding towards the kitchen for some water. As he drank the cool liquid and downed two Aspirin, he recalled his dream which only filled him with anger and dread. 'What the hell is that supposed to mean? Is Amanda really interested in that man?'

Noting the darkness now outside his windows, Lee showered and changed for bed as his need for sleep outweighed his need for food. He continued contemplating the meaning of his dream. The more he thought about it, the more he didn't like the idea of Amanda out with that man. He was probably manipulating her to gain information just like some of the men she had dated in the past. '_It was a warning. My subconscious knows the jerk is dangerous. You would think she would have learned the signals by now. I'm going to find out exactly_ _when and where she met that guy and what the hell his intentions are. A bake sale? PTA meeting? Kids in the same class? I'm sure she'll have some unbelievable excuse or chalk it up to a coincidental meeting at the grocery store. Amanda really is lucky that she has me to watch out for her and she should be thankful as well.' _

Lee lit the candle next to his bed and climbed into bed secure in the knowledge of his plan for the next day - to begin investigating Bryce Topping and find out everything there was to know about that guy. There was no way he was going to let that bozo worm his way into Amanda's life. He was oblivious to the fact, as Amanda had said, that he sounded like "a jealous person."


End file.
